Impossible to rid Hair Algea, S.O.S

[ScubaSkeets]

I forgot about one thing I did try when I had that type of algae.

I had an old rechargeable toothbrush, sacrificed a new brush head for the aquarium, and used that on the algae with some success. The vibration/oscillation was certainly better than manually brushing or trying to pinch and pull it.
You can get a cheap one for $15-$20.

"But it is electric (rechargeable battery)...you're gonna zap yourself or kill the fish"
- No. It's sealed and watertight. How else are you going to be able to brush your teeth?

 

[Dburr1014]

I forgot about one thing I did try when I had that type of algae.

I had an old rechargeable toothbrush, sacrificed a new brush head for the aquarium, and used that on the algae with some success. The vibration/oscillation was certainly better than manually brushing or trying to pinch and pull it.
You can get a cheap one for $15-$20.

"But it is electric (rechargeable battery)...you're gonna zap yourself or kill the fish"
- No. It's sealed and watertight. How else are you going to be able to brush your teeth?

My sonic toothbrush says right on it "do not submerged in water"
It is sealed but only water resistant. It is definatly not water "proof"

 

[fish farmer]

I'm assuming the only way to know what it is, is if I get a microscope?

Bryopsis has a feathery type appearance up close.

Another method I use for manual removal of stubborn algae tufts is making a siphon tube with stainless steel straws as the tip. You can scrape all sorts of things off rocks with the straws.

 

[ratzy82]

Bryopsis has a feathery type appearance up close.

Another method I use for manual removal of stubborn algae tufts is making a siphon tube with stainless steel straws as the tip. You can scrape all sorts of things off rocks with the straws.

oh nice. good idea. I don't think its bryopsis. It's not feathery.

 

[Garf]

oh nice. good idea. I don't think its bryopsis. It's not feathery.

I fully expect the basal attachment of this algae to be inaccessible to your herbivores, ie in cracks or holes. Delivering a little DIY F -Aiptasia (or maybe a little peroxide) into the basal attachment will detach it and provide access to tiny herbivores. Just do a few spots each time if you choose.

 

[jda]

Crab claws can get down into those crevices and cracks. Just like plants, the roots cannot live forever without energy from the green, fleshy parts and they eventually die. Small urchins can get into lots of cracks and cervices to eat root, but they grow quickly. Kalkwasser does a great job down there.

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

the algea is rooted into the rock i went through this after dino for a year you have to manually scrub the rock with each water change. i used a scrub brush that i have on a wooden pole and an electric toothbrush. it took a month or 2 but it's now gone. i still brush the rock with each water change its just good practice. i also have a small power head on a pole and blow out all the rock with each change. any coral that could not be scrubbed was put in an 02 bath. fish and other natural remedies can not keep up with its growth.

 

[fushi]

My reef is almost 2 years old now, and I’m in an unending war with hair algae.

Hey, how do you know your getting a false P reading on your RO? I have found TDS isn't the best way to judge your RO water, TDS doesn't pick up a lot of things.

Have you considered getting an ICP (I like ATI, Fauna Marine, or Oceamo); they will test your RO water too.
Something may be very out of wack with your chemistry making it difficult to get rid of your algae.
I have let my quarantine tank get out of control with algae and was able to get rid of it by fixing my trace issues and adding some snails. All the hair algae was gone in a week.

Also I have also found turbo snails to be borderline useless lol. I would recommend Caribbean nerites, they are tiny but are ferocious eaters. I also find banded throcus, astrea, and emerald crabs to be helpful too.

 

[jda]

ICP companies just use a color changing, acetic acid based test to measure po4. They do the same things that we do - some might use a very expensive Hach po4 test it and others might just use a Hannah or Salifert. Most total phosphorous numbers are a math equation off of po4, but some might have an expensive test that does actual total P. Most are black boxes and will never tell you - just have to trust them. There might be other reasons to send RODI out for ICP, but if it is just for po4, then it is a waste of money. The po4 compound can also change in the vial on the way and not truly measure what you have. Each ICP company is different in how they do this, the company matters.

Again, nobody needs any measurable po4 for algae to grow. The algae can live on forms that we cannot test for and also very small traces of what we can test for.

 

[fushi]

ICP companies just use a color changing, acetic acid based test to measure po4. They do the same things that we do - some might use a very expensive Hach po4 test it and others might just use a Hannah or Salifert. Most total phosphorous numbers are a math equation off of po4, but some might have an expensive test that does actual total P. Most are black boxes and will never tell you - just have to trust them. There might be other reasons to send RODI out for ICP, but if it is just for po4, then it is a waste of money. The po4 compound can also change in the vial on the way and not truly measure what you have. Each ICP company is different in how they do this, the company matters.

Again, nobody needs any measurable po4 for algae to grow. The algae can live on forms that we cannot test for and also very small traces of what we can test for.

Anecdotally my ICP results from the companies that I mentioned have always been pretty close to my hanna, and focustronic tests.

I aslo don't think phosphates are their problem and suspect something else may be pretty out of whack.

 

[ratzy82]

If you follow my advice we are going to grow healthier algae, but we are also going to reduce the photo period which should cause levels to increase a little. We are not starving your coral, we are doing the opposite.

The algae is growing from phosphate bound rock. This is the result of months and months of a situation where phosphate in the water column became attached to the rock. When you test your water, the reading is not quite accurate. It tells you the phosphate one the water, but not the rock.

Scrubbers can fix this if they are sized and run correctly. It takes time though. As they absorb phosphate from the water, the phosphate will release from the rock and the numbers will quickly return to what they started at. It’s also common for more algae to grow as a phase. But, eventually, the rocks will be “clean” and you will start to notice progress. The whole process can be a few weeks or a f

Hey, how do you know your getting a false P reading on your RO? I have found TDS isn't the best way to judge your RO water, TDS doesn't pick up a lot of things.

Have you considered getting an ICP (I like ATI, Fauna Marine, or Oceamo); they will test your RO water too.
Something may be very out of wack with your chemistry making it difficult to get rid of your algae.
I have let my quarantine tank get out of control with algae and was able to get rid of it by fixing my trace issues and adding some snails. All the hair algae was gone in a week.

Also I have also found turbo snails to be borderline useless lol. I would recommend Caribbean nerites, they are tiny but are ferocious eaters. I also find banded throcus, astrea, and emerald crabs to be helpful too.

I have a tds meter on my rodi, and separated tds meter that I test the water with. Both say 0, but I suppose those could be inaccurate. Yes, I probably should do a an ICP. I've never done one before. And I don't really know what to look for. My water chemisty for my basic elements seems fine. alk 9, Calc 430, Mag 1420. I'll try adding some more snails. I've heard emerald crabs are a pain. They do look cool though.

 

[ratzy82]

I have a tds meter on my rodi, and separated tds meter that I test the water with. Both say 0, but I suppose those could be inaccurate. Yes, I probably should do a an ICP. I've never done one before. And I don't really know what to look for. My water chemisty for my basic elements seems fine. alk 9, Calc 430, Mag 1420. I'll try adding some more snails. I've heard emerald crabs are a pain. They do look cool though.

Those are measured by my apex, btw. Which I know can be off, but haven't really changed much from calibration every month.

 

[jda]

I would save your ICP money and either buy more salt and change some water, or buy some more urchins, snails and hermits.

Emerald crabs are not coral eaters in nature, but they can eat coral for some people when they are hungry - so would we. Nothing can live on fish poop alone. They are omnivores in nature and some left over fish food will be fine for them. I have some that are almost 2" across and they polish up the rock nicely picking off things that I cannot even see. Did you watch the video that I posted by Ross? It works the way that he says with larger removal coming from you or fish, then the shorter stuff getting cleaned up by a crew and the micro work by other parts of the crew.

 

[ratzy82]

I would save your ICP money and either buy more salt and change some water, or buy some more urchins, snails and hermits.

Emerald crabs are not coral eaters in nature, but they can eat coral for some people when they are hungry - so would we. Nothing can live on fish poop alone. They are omnivores in nature and some left over fish food will be fine for them. I have some that are almost 2" across and they polish up the rock nicely picking off things that I cannot even see. Did you watch the video that I posted by Ross? It works the way that he says with larger removal coming from you or fish, then the shorter stuff getting cleaned up by a crew and the micro work by other parts of the crew.

Yes I watched it this am, it was very good. A lot of what he mentioned I should get I already have. I'm not sure if I should add any more urchin's, I don't want my corals to be bulldozed. A lot of the tufts are in hard to reach spots. So it's going to be difficult to remove it. I think I need to add more snails. And like he mentioned algea can live in any condition. Zeroing out my nutrients isnt going to fix it. I wish my tangs ate more of it. The tomini tang seems to like eating it, but the fox face and naso won't touch it. Even if it pull it off for them to try. I may add an emerald crab, there is plenty of it there for him to snack on. I really don't want to fork out the $$ for an icp test. I don't think it's an imbalance of trace. Now if I was loosing torch heads left and right, then maybe.

 

[jda]

You can balance traces again with water changes even better than getting an ICP and trying to dose each one. However, neither here nor there for this issue.

The crews can sometimes look like they are doing nothing and then all of a sudden they really start to make progress. The looks can be exponential. I have ****** fish that will not eat much of it either unless they get REALLY hungry - I don't like to deprive my corals of fish waste, so I don't starve them.

Get the long stuff with a siphon, brush or your hands and help them out. I know that it sucks, but it is necessary. Once they get it under control, then they will keep it under control so that is good news. Keep the glass really clean so that the crew cannot be lazy jerks and just hang out on there - this is my largest issue.

Just understanding that no3 and po4 is not going to make any difference is a huge step and will equip you better than most on the internet.

 

[fushi]

I have a tds meter on my rodi, and separated tds meter that I test the water with. Both say 0, but I suppose those could be inaccurate. Yes, I probably should do a an ICP. I've never done one before. And I don't really know what to look for. My water chemisty for my basic elements seems fine. alk 9, Calc 430, Mag 1420. I'll try adding some more snails. I've heard emerald crabs are a pain. They do look cool though.

TDS doesn't detect a lot of things, a quick google will provide a list.

If you have already tried everything else, an ICP can't hurt. My tank that had the algae problems (due to neglect) was extremly low on potassium, fluorine, boron, and a few other things, once I dosed it up algae growth slowed, coral growth speed up and the snails destroyed what was left of the algae.

Triton is a good ICP too but they dont test your RO so for the price I like the others.

 

[ratzy82]

TDS doesn't detect a lot of things, a quick google will provide a list.

If you have already tried everything else, an ICP can't hurt. My tank that had the algae problems (due to neglect) was extremly low on potassium, fluorine, boron, and a few other things, once I dosed it up algae growth slowed, coral growth speed up and the snails destroyed what was left of the algae.

Triton is a good ICP too but they dont test your RO so for the price I like the others.

API isn't terrible $45ish on amazon. I believe they are reputable and do RO water

 

[fushi]

API isn't terrible $45ish on amazon. I believe they are reputable and do RO water

I have been using ATI for a while, my only issue with them is they have a slow turnaround time for us in the US, Oceamo seems to be a few days faster and trition is located in California so it tends to be the fastest.

 

[jda]

Have you all seen the analysis about ICP consistency and accuracy done on this site? I would read it before you send anything away and spend the money. For nearly everything, hobby grade test kits are just as good. You are likely have more new questions than answered ones. It is worth a look. Even the best ones like Oceamo still have many things that might not help you - to his credit, Cristoph talks openly about nearly all of this where the rest of the are just silent.

 

[ratzy82]

If you follow my advice we are going to grow healthier algae, but we are also going to reduce the photo period which should cause levels to increase a little. We are not starving your coral, we are doing the opposite.

The algae is growing from phosphate bound rock. This is the result of months and months of a situation where phosphate in the water column became attached to the rock. When you test your water, the reading is not quite accurate. It tells you the phosphate one the water, but not the rock.

Scrubbers can fix this if they are sized and run correctly. It takes time though. As they absorb phosphate from the water, the phosphate will release from the rock and the numbers will quickly return to what they started at. It’s also common for more algae to grow as a phase. But, eventually, the rocks will be “clean” and you will start to notice progress. The whole process can be a few weeks or a few months

Here are the pics of my algea matt. One side you can see I've harvested. I usually only completely remove one side at time. I did remove a small amount from the "full side" to keep the water flowing.